Harry Potter and the Remnants of Darkness
by Arcane Testament
Summary: Harry has just returned to the Burrow after the Battle of Hogwarts when a dark secret, one that may be more dangerous than even Lord Voldemort, resurfaces.  HarryGinny RonHermione.  Continuation of How Things End.


A/N: Hello, Everyone. This story is a continuation of "How Things End". So if you haven't read that, you may want to before starting this. There are some questions answered in it that aren't really explained in this story. Anyway, here you go.

**Harry Potter and the Remnants of Darkness**

**Prologue**

It was cold. Unusually cold for July. Yaxley was tired. He had been running, hiding since Voldemort's death. It had been nearly three weeks and he still couldn't find his way out of the Forbidden Forest.

This had been his haven for the first few days after he fled, but now Yaxley realized how dangerous the forest was. The Order of the Phoenix had enlisted the aid of the centaurs to find any Death Eaters that hadn't met their end at Hogwarts. So far, Yaxley had avoided them, but at a high price. Antonin Dolohov and Fenrir Greyback had both been captured and turned in to the new Ministry. And Yaxley? Yaxley was lost, without a wand, eating whatever safe-looking berries and mushrooms he could find (which, in this forest, were few and far between).

_What had gone wrong?_ Yaxley thought. They were winning. Voldemort had the Elder Wand. He killed Harry Potter. At least they had thought. But that wasn't right; the boy had killed the Dark Lord. Yaxley had seen it. Then why? What had happened to the curse Voldemort had hit Harry with? Was it the Wand? Potter had said that the Elder Wand wasn't really Voldemort's.

Yaxley continued to run, not really knowing where he was or what was going to happen when he stopped. It didn't really matter. Voldemort was dead and most, if not all, of the remaining Death Eaters were captured or already shared their Lord's fate.

Yaxley came to a clearing and stopped. While he couldn't stay in one spot for too long, he needed to rest. He spotted a small creek and took the liberty of drinking from it. As Yaxley gulped as much water as his body could handle, he looked around. Not a single sign of danger. The air was still and the forest around him was dark. He sat on a rock and continued to think. He wasn't going to continue wandering aimlessly through the labyrinth of forest he was currently stuck in. However, without a wand it was impossible for him to perform magic, even Apparation. Capture wasn't an option either. He rather liked being on the outside of Azkaban; the view was infinitely better. _So what am I going to do? _He thought. He had no answer, so he closed his eyes and slept.

Shortly after he had fallen asleep, Yaxley awoke with a start. A bright green light shattered the blackness above him. The light slowly descended and touched the ground: a small green flame, fixated at one point in front of him.

Yaxley sat bewildered for a moment before he recognized the flame. It was old magic developed by the Dark Lord before the Dark Mark. He hadn't seen it since Voldemort's first rise to power. It was a signaling spell; someone nearby had connections with the Dark Lord. This was his chance to escape. He responded the way he remembered: he pressed his hand into the center of the flame. It wasn't hot, however it did send a tingling feeling throughout his body. Then, the flame vanished.

This was how the system worked. One person would send the flame, which would seek out the receiver, who would then touch the flame to show he was a friend. The flame would then return to the sender, who would Apparate in front of the receiver. It was a slow method, nearly obsolete thanks to the Dark Mark, which could call all of the Dark Lord's servants to one place in an instant, but it was effective. Yaxley was greatly relieved that he would not be caged in the forest much longer.

He waited for three minutes. No one came. He figured that the sender had decided to not show himself, or maybe he was captured by a centaur. Yaxley began to doubt the flame had ever existed, that maybe he had been hallucinating. Just as these doubts began to overtake him, he heard a voice.

"Ah, a Death Eater. What a pleasant surprise," The voice cooed. It was a smooth, slightly distant voice, coming from all around him.

"Who are you?" Yaxley replied.

"I am your savior, and that is all you need to know." The voice echoed off of the trees that surrounded the clearing.

"Where are you?"

"Close. Do not worry, I wouldn't leave a friend to die."

"What makes you think we're friends?" Yaxley stood up and began circling the spot where the flame had appeared.

"Well, we both want the same thing."

"And that is?"

"Power. Revenge. I know all about what happened to Tom Riddle. Such a tragedy. I would have never thought such a powerful dark wizard as himself would have been defeated by a Potter."

"Potter? What do you know about Potter?"

"More than you can imagine."

"Where are you? Show yourself." Yaxley began to look from tree to tree, hoping to see the man who owned the voice.

"Soon. I am almost there. First, however, I need to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"Do you want revenge on Potter? Do you want to crush the life from his lungs in return for your misery?" The voice had become sharp and threatening.

"Yes! I want to make him and everyone he knows pay their part."

"Good. And do you renounce your former master? Will you forget the name _Voldemort_ ever existed?"

"Y-yes. His name means nothing to me."

"Good." The voice filled his ear as a hand reached out from behind him and pushed firmly on his chest. Another hand grabbed his left arm, tracing a finger over the Dark Mark. The hand lifted up, and the Mark came with it, flinging the brand into the air, freeing Yaxley from the remnants of the Dark Lord's control. Suddenly, everything went dark and Yaxley felt himself being thrust away from the Forbidden Forest, into the unknown.


End file.
